Once I was Young
by lfonzo
Summary: Not many people know when love really starts. Rossweisse was one of those people until she met Uzumaki Naruto and found a relationship where they were more than friends but not quite lovers.


**Authors Note: Hello! It's me, lfonzo, the author of 'Reborn As Issei' with a new story. This is just an idea I happened to think of one day and I essentially decided to write a story about it. It was also partly motivated by quite a few people who kept asking if I could do a fic where Naruto was the MC. I also really want to break some cliches that have existed in Naruto/DxD crossovers (cliches which Reborn As Issei has also conformed to) with this fic.**

 **Hopefully everyone will find it interesting!**

 **A couple of things to note about this story, first, though. To all those who read 'Reborn As Issei' you will know there is more than 1 Naruto character in it. This will NOT be the case here; Naruto will be the only human Naruto character in this fic. So rest assured all of you who turned away from 'Reborn as Issei' after Chapter 3; I'm not going to do that in this fic.**

 **Secondly, this story starts canonically between Rossweisse's introduction to Rias' Peerage and the Kyoto Arc (Between Volume 7 and 9) and deviates from that point. I know a lot of people who read Naruto/DxD fanfic have little to no knowledge of the DxD canon (me, for example, when I first read Naruto/DxD crossovers) but I'll try my best to fill in for those readers. Having said that one or two previous points (such as the Diodara arc) may be a bit unfamiliar.**

 **Now, because the story deviates from such a late point in canon, it means that Issei isn't going to be 'loses' his canon harem to Naruto as is the case in many other fics. By this point in canon the feelings of Rias, Akeno, Asia, Xenovia, Irina, Ravel and Koneko for Issei are deeply entrenched and it would simply be out of character and frankly quite lazy for these characters to start falling for Naruto.** **So the pairings in this fic will NOT include any of the aforementioned (I have 2-3 planned for Naruto's pairing, however and they are finalized).**

 **If you were expecting Naruto to come in and steal all of Issei's thunder or for Issei to be bashed, be disappointed because this fic will likely not be that enjoyable for you guys.**

 **Thirdly, I'm not using Fairy Tail Dragon Slayer's Stat sheets for power levels (so don't complain and/or beg about that). While I respect the guy as an author, I feel his stat sheets are fairly bias to the Narutoverse and overemphasis gag scenes to extrapolate Naruto's strength.**

 **I've also tried keeping Naruto as in character as possible in terms of romantic pursuits so be prepared for a more awkward Naruto rather than the super suave take like in other fics. Having said that he's not as bad as he will he in Shipudden since, you know, he's an adult.**

 **This first chapter will also be a little Shoujo-like in that manner since I wanted to create a foundation for Naruto and Rossweisse's relationship further than 'she likes him'. Also do consider that the italics bit is written in Naruto's exclusive POV and the rest is written in Rossweisse's exclusive POV meaning that they can be unreliable in what they are communicating to you, the audience.**

 **Beta'd by Uzumaki-sama011 and Detinc.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Highschool DxD.**

* * *

 _Sometimes he wondered why he was still here._

 _But then he would look at his right arm and the pale white flesh that was not his own would remind him. He would look in the mirror, his blue eyes staring back at him, mocking him._

 _He was here because he couldn't die._

 _Not that he was invincible; he may sometimes get a big head but even he was not so egotistical to believe that he was invincible._

 _Rather he was merely immortal, the Yang chakra that the Rikudo Sennin passed onto him enforcing and embellishing his already impressive life force to unprecedented levels._

 _It was not until later in his life when he knew about it, though. And how he regretted it._

 _How he regretted how he dove into the role of Hokage, ignoring all else. How he regretted the time he had lost processing paperwork instead of showing Hinata how much he loved her. How he regretted doing interviews, telling all of his achievements instead of teaching Boruto. How he regretted going over insignificant details in countless meetings instead of doting over Himawari._

 _When he realized that the time of his precious people was running out, while his own was not, it had already been too late, the relationship with those he was closest to, his own family, was already too far-gone down the road of no return._

 _His son had already become his own man; his daughter no longer wore the name 'Uzumaki' but rather proudly bore the surname of her husband. His wife, while still loving, was distant, already creating her own lifestyle which he could never fully integrate himself into._

 _How he regretted it all._

 _And when Hinata had died, and his children had passed and the only other precious person that was still living was a sickly, bedridden Uchiha Sasuke, he knew that the only way to make it up to them was to continue his life's work and continue to maintain peace in the world that they had left behind. It was a promise he made to Hinata, to Boruto, to Himawari, to Shikamaru, to Konohamaru, to Sakura and finally to the dying Sasuke._

 _It was the least he could do. Literally._

 _He would maintain this world of peace, where understanding between all ruled strong, where the will to fight was all but gone._

 _And so he sat in the world, watching the world age around him, change around him._

 _And as good men became wicked._

 _He realized that his promise was not so easily kept._

 _He intervened when he could and even at times where he couldn't, but too often men were too ready to fight, too ready to protect, too ready to spill blood._

 _Even his limited ability to transcend the barriers of rudimentary communication and to project one's feelings onto another through the sacred art of Ninshu proved inadequate._

 _He failed like many before him failed._

 _Even he, with all his abilities, could not stop wars going on indefinitely._ _He could do nothing as humanity entered into an endless cycle of self-destruction and self-resurgence._

 _His efforts had seen to that some hail him a God, but whenever he heard it he could only laugh and cry; he was no God, not with the amount of regrets, the amount of wrongs he'd done._

 _He was, after all, but a failure of a man._

* * *

Despite the new beginning which walking through the gates of Kuoh Academy, a teacher's badge pinned to her collar for the first time meant, Rossweisse couldn't help but feel that joining the Gremory Peerage wouldn't actually mean much in her own personal development.

She was a bit of a pessimist like that.

But considering that her social and people skills were rather lacking (as was her luck), it wasn't exactly surprising; her school life was rather dreary in the friends department, her working life hadn't fared much better with her co-workers being rather indifferent to her and the less said about her former boss the better. It was a rather vicious cycle that the former Valkyrie didn't expect would end when she started working here.

Seeing that she was so much younger than her fellow co-workers, she was already anticipating being something of a social outcast, on the outside looking in.

But she was fine with that.

Unfortunately, there was another thing that she wasn't as fine with, a change that she had anticipated but hadn't eventuated.

And that was the rather constant reminders of her utter lack of any experience with the opposite sex.

While she had to admit it was certainly more explicit when Odin was running his mouth, teasing her around the clock, baiting her, the happenings in the Gremory Peerage struck closer to the heart.

She knew that it was all rather unintentional of their part, that they were only running the routine which they had established long before meeting her but she wasn't an idiot; she could sense the sexual tension permeating from her fellow female devils - and that one angel - whenever she walked into a room when one of them thought they were alone with Issei.

It _really_ served to drive home the point that despite not expecting change, she yearned for it.

She wanted a boyfriend who loved her and whom she loved back, she wanted friends, she wanted to earn money to take care of her grandmother, she wanted good health insurance.

But, alas, as she opened the door of the staff room, she realized that those things were not going to come to her.

"Surprise!"

...And then she took a step back, shocked, more so than she had ever been before in her life, as she carefully surveyed the room.

Streamers were everywhere, confetti raining down on her, banners welcoming her lining the edges of the room. The room was so much more colorful than what she expected it to be, all because of her.

Maybe she was wrong about her co-workers potentially ostracizing her then...

The Head Teacher, her 'boss' when it came to this job, Yamato-sensei smiled, lending his arm out for her to shake.

"Sorry if it surprised you but this is a little tradition we have for any of our new staff... though Azazel-sensei didn't seem to appreciate it when we did this for him..." the man said as she took the offered hand shaking it firmly, smiling at her with a wizened grin, "Oh well, his loss. I do hope that you feel welcomed; it must be quite daunting to do this job considering your age."

Rossweisse smiled, brushing some of the loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"I do. And I will be more than up to the task; you won't regret hiring me."

Yamato-sensei smiled in reply, nodding his head in approval at her answer before he waved over a man who seemed to be talking with a co-worker, explaining something as he waved his arms around.

"I want to introduce you to someone. Fishcake! Come over here."

As he turned, Rossweisse was rather surprised at this 'Fishcake's' appearance.

The man was young, probably in his early to mid 20s, judging from his appearance. His hair was spiky blond, his cheeks marred with six cat-like whiskers, which on closer inspection were probably scars or birthmarks rather than actual whiskers. He was tall, too, easily towering over the average Japanese man.

But the most distinguishing feature about him was his smile, which was probably the most open and genuine smile she had ever seen.

"This is Fishcake; he's the one who started this tradition," Yamato-sensei explained as the blond man got nearer, "Something about making everyone feel welcome."

The blond man nodded, though he did seem slightly disgruntled with the nickname, before he offered out his bandaged right hand. She immediately took it, her body feeling oddly warm at the physical contact she was having with him.

"Hi, Rossweisse-sensei. I'm the gym teacher here at Kuoh and the main sub around here if anyone's sick," the blond smiled a dazzling smile before continuing, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

Rossweisse rarely had to admit she was wrong but she was wrong here. Undoubtedly so.

Because it did seem like her life was going through small changes, as things started looking up for her. For the last few weeks things were more than enjoyable; her colleagues were more than welcoming and didn't seem to regard her age as a significant factor in interacting with her. They respected her, listened to her opinions, never scolded her when she accidentally did something wrong and seemed more amused rather than scandalized when she decided to scold students who were the same age or older than her.

Oddly, she found that rather than continuously hanging around with Azazel as she had expected, she had somehow created a regular circle of acquaintances which she always ate lunch with.

In fact, the Fallen Angel Commander seemed to continually disappear whenever he had free time, likely on his never-ending quest to bed women or to research some obscure topic that had piqued his interest.

Away from work, she had also unexpectedly created friendships within the Gremory Peerage; they had also been more than welcoming, allowing her to stay the Hyoudou residence indefinitely.

(That _really_ helped her with her finances considering she no longer had to pay rent.)

And as she lived in the Hyoudou residence, Rossweisse realized that she was also getting closer with each and every one of her fellow devils, knowing each and every one of them a smidgen better every week.

She learnt that Asia was quite a bit more possessive than she appeared at first instance; that Issei had many admirable qualities like his determination and willingness to go above and beyond for those he cared for that were as much a part of him as his perversion and his status as the Sekiryuutei; that Rias' kindness and pride were not mere acts, that the King really did care about her Peerage like they were her family; that Koneko was not nearly as emotionless as she let on; that Gasper's insecurities stemmed from his rather depressing past; that Xenovia actually _did_ have feelings for Issei beyond her desire to have strong children; that Akeno was not nearly as dominant as she had people believe; that Kiba greatly valued his rivalry with Issei; that Irina had held affection for Issei for the longest time.

It was odd; it was _refreshing_ for her to feel so accepted both at home and at work.

And frankly, as her eyes wandered away from her lunch and glanced at the person sitting across from her, a large part of her seamless transition was thanks to _him_.

Uzumaki Naruto.

From her conversations with newly made workplace friends, they all admitted that the staffroom at Kuoh Academy was rather boring and bland long ago.

But then Naruto had been hired and he changed _everything_ ; the blond seemingly possessed a natural aura to change those around him for the better, to make them come together and _listen_ , to make people see past their differences and connect.

Rossweisse had experienced it first hand; whenever she felt slightly off-put by the public displays of affection that occurred at the Hyoudou Residence between Issei and one of the other residents there, or by the fact that she had to reprimand a student or whenever someone from Vallhalla called (like Odin who apparently didn't forget her enough not to call her up quite frequently just to tease her in jest), she would come to work to find a soft smile greeting her and a small hand-made gift on her desk.

Of course, she had been slightly wary, not quite understanding how Naruto knew her feelings every day but when she asked, the others had revealed that the blond had also done similar things for them; that being able to connect with other people's feelings and understand their problems was what made Naruto, Naruto.

Still, as time drew on Rossweisse felt her eyes naturally wander over to him whenever she was not paying attention and felt her interest in getting to know Naruto better enlivened, even if she wasn't fantastic at reading people.

And so she found herself looking at Naruto, trying to figure out the person he was and what made him tick.

And naturally, that is what she did.

The first thing she learnt was that Naruto was not nearly as perfect as she had initially thought.

He was more than a little perverted, as she saw the questionable magazine that was buried in the drawer of his desk (though, as her memories brought her back to Odin, Azazel, Issei and many others, all good men seemed to have that flaw...or they were evil, like in Loki's case). He could sometimes be quite inconsiderate, assuming that the limits of others were his own limits (she had heard some students complain about Naruto, saying that he was a _psycho_ with his physical education lessons). He was also quite nosy, sticking his nose into other's business when they didn't want him to.

Of course nobody was perfect and the these flaws were quite few and far between; his more positive traits such as his determination (which far exceeded even that of Issei's who had continuously proven himself to be quite a determined individual), his willingness to help people, his ability to empathize would all end up shining through no matter what he did. Those were the traits which made him like a flame in the night, attracting others to him whether they wanted to hang around with the blond or not.

And slowly but surely, as Rossweisse began to notice more about Naruto, the more she began to feel.

Until it became unequivocally clear; she had a bit of a schoolgirl's crush on Naruto, the human physical education teacher at Kuoh Academy.

Her first crush.

* * *

Of course she didn't act on her feelings for Naruto. She was new to having these types of feelings, these thoughts that were plaguing her mind. Furthermore, she was convinced that her feelings were merely fleeting; that they would disappear as quickly as they came. And it wasn't like she was _special_ ; everyone at Kuoh Academy, whether they were man or woman, old or young, staff or student, were subjected to the same amount of concern and attention from the blond as she was.

There was also the added complication that she was a Valkyrie turned devil while he was a human with presumably no knowledge of the supernatural.

But still, she couldn't help it when she found herself unconsciously looking in Naruto's direction; when she found her face becoming warm when he gave her his typical smile; when she found her heart beating quickly whenever he would be close to her.

Still, she resolved herself to let her feelings remain feelings.

But that all changed on a particularly lazy Sunday afternoon, where Rossweisse found herself raiding the local Daimaru department store and the adjacent 100 yen store which was having one of its big annual sales. She had heard about the huge discounts that were been advertised in the weeks leading up to the day and had deliberately rushed off early. The Norse battlemaiden had asked her fellow housemates whether they would like to accompany her (after giving them all thorough lectures on the importance of being fiscally responsible in the current Japanese economic climate) but all of them had looked rather indifferent, except Issei who, instead, had given her a rather cheeky smile before labelling her the '100 yen Valkyrie'.

 _'Well fine then, when I pick up the bargain of the century we'll see who has the last laugh!_ ' she had thought.

And thus she busied herself that day, browsing and buying all sorts of useful items all for a third of the price they usually cost.

It was nearly closing time when Rossweisse found herself, a finger on her lips, tossing up between two tracksuits that had gotten her attention; the one on the left an unbranded purple one which cost a mere 980 yen or the one of the right which was a rather tasteful orange and branded but cost a whole 200 yen more.

She much preferred the one on the right but, her fiscally responsibly mind pointed out that she could save a whole 200 yen if she bought the one of the left.

Ultimately pondering had gotten her nowhere as the logical part of her mind won over, as she started reaching for the one on the left with a sigh.

A voice interrupted her.

"Rossweisse-chan!"

A very familiar voice; one that she instantly recognized, as her cheeks coloured red and her hand snapped back immediately.

Turning, Rossweisse shifted her weight between her feet quite awkwardly before looking up, feeling her cheeks get even redder, as Naruto's blue eyes seemed to smile at the sight. The blond was in his usual orange attire with a rather large box of ramen under his arm. "Uzumaki-sensei."

Naruto pouted slightly at the response he got as he shifted the box under his arm. "I said it was fine to call me Naruto!"

Rossweisse blushed, turning her attention back to the two tracksuits. "Then Naruto...may I ask what are you doing here?"

The blond smiled, glancing to the two tracksuits as well. "It's a ramen sale! I couldn't stay at home knowing that –ttebayo!"

Rossweisse brightened at that, glad that someone else she knew also seemed to enjoy saving money.

"It's good to know that you are responsible with your money, Naruto!"

Naruto hummed, nodding slowly as if he didn't really understand what Rossweisse was talking about but was willing to go along with it before he turned, looking on as his co-worker reached out for the cheaper tracksuit.

"You know, Rossweisse-chan...I think you should get the one of the right."

Rossweisse stopped, looking back at Naruto her expression surprised. "Why would you think that?"

"Well," Naruto said as he grinned sheepishly, scratching the back as he averted his gaze, "I just like orange..."

The former Valkyrie nodded at the explanation, her hand already moving towards the more expensive tracksuit.

However, Naruto continued as he looked Rossweisse directly in the eye. "Also the one of the right...that's the one you really want isn't it? I know you're probably a bit put off by the price but I think it will be worth it in the long run."

Rossweisse felt her cheeks flood with blood, as she grabbed the orange tracksuit, hugging it to her chest. "How...how did you know this was the one that I really want?"

The blond smiled, scratching the back of his head again. "A lucky guess, I think?"

She nodded, knowing that the blond wasn't speaking the whole truth; that he somehow just _knew_ what she really wanted.

Maybe that was just another facet of his utterly phenomenal ability to emphasize with those around him.

Turning, she was about to thank the blond for helping her make up her mind before bidding him a fond farewell but she was stopped as Naruto slid in front of her, leaning forwards into her face.

"Rossweisse-chan...Are you doing anything for the rest of the day?"

She shook her head, leaning back slightly to gain a bit of distance between her and the blond. "No..."

"Then how about we hang out together!" Naruto said with a rather goofy grin.

She spluttered, unsure of how to respond. On the one hand she _really_ wanted to say yes, to get to know her crush better on a more personal level but on the other, she didn't want to make an idiot of herself.

However she didn't really have to make her decision; Naruto had seen through her once again, seeing what she really _wanted_ and why she was hesitant.

"It will be fun! It doesn't matter what we do as long as we enjoy ourselves, right?"

Rossweisse smiled, nodding as some of the blond's confidence seemed to transfer to her.

And thus, she and Naruto spent the rest of the day together, shopping, eating and even taking the Ferris wheel that was situated nearby.

She kept the commemorative photo that came from the ride, Naruto's arm around her shoulders while they both did a victory sign at the camera. Rossweisse had to admit to herself that she was utterly surprised by not only how much fun she had on their impromptu outing with Naruto; she had expected, even after agreeing to it, to be nervous throughout.

But somehow, her nervousness never came up, she never felt the need to act like someone else and when she _did_ do something odd or rather stupid, Naruto had merely laughed, his eyes twinkling as if he was telling it was fine and that he didn't think less of her before the blond, himself, would do something far more weird or inappropriate.

She was thankful, as she got to know Naruto even better; learning that he was scared of ghosts, that he was quite dense though in a way that was quite endearing and that saying he just loved ramen was something of an understatement.

Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end, and they were on their way to the train station, the stars twinkling down at the pair.

"You don't need to take me home, Naruto. Think of how environmentally unfriendly it is to take the train twice!"

Naruto smiled back at her, the box of ramen still carefully tucked under his arm. "It is fine, Rossweisse-chan. If my old teacher were here, he would smack me if I didn't take a woman home..."

Rossweisse could have sworn that after that Naruto added 'and also invited myself to hot coffee' but when she turned back, he only blinked back with such innocence that she couldn't help but think she was hearing things.

"Where do you live, by the way?"

Rossweisse brushed some loose strands of hair behind her ear as she answered absentmindedly. "At the Hyoudou Residence."

She took a few more steps but stopped, swivelling around as she realized that unlike before, the sound of her feet had become lonesome as if she were the only one walking.

"At the Hyoudou Residence...do you mean Hyoudou Issei's house?" Naruto's smile, somehow seemed frozen on his face as his cheeks pushed up, making it seem like his eyes were closed.

She tapped her chin, utterly confused by the question. "Yep!"

Naruto's smile somehow grew even more frozen, stiff and uncharacteristically distant. "I-I...see. Issei-kun seems quite popular with the ladies..."

She was about to respond positively to the blond's comment, knowing that Issei was indeed attracting quite a number of women (to her inner disgruntlement) but then it hit her why the previously free-flowing conversation had taken such a stiff and awkward turn; why the blond's warm eyes had widened as if they were too shocked to move.

Because of _course_ Naruto would respond awkwardly, would assume things when she replied that she lived with a student who was rumoured to have a near insatiable lust for women.

"N-no! There's nothing happening between Ise-kun and I! I respect the morals of being a teacher and would never...with a student!"

 _Only with you!_ She unconsciously wanted to add, but thankfully stopped herself.

Naruto nodded, his smile turning back to its typical warm and genuine and his eyes twinkling with humour again, as if he realized that he had made an erroneous assumption.

She was glad that she didn't really need to explain more; that her words and denial were enough to clear up the misunderstanding and that the blond seemed more than willing to believe her and not question the matter further. If she were back in the mead halls of Valhala, still serving Odin and such a situation had occurred _there_ with either the Norse All-Father or another Valkyrie she wouldn't have heard the end of it.

"Of course."

They continued walking together, side by side, as their conversation once again mellowed back to more typical topics and this continued until they reached the gates of the Hyoudou residence.

When they finally reached the gates of the recently upgraded mansion, Rossweisse couldn't help but curse internally; wishing that time could have slowed, that the walk home with Naruto had lasted longer.

However, as she stood opposite Naruto, about to bid farewell, she was granted with something that was even better.

"I really enjoyed this, Rossweisse-chan. Why don't we do this again?"

Rossweisse took a deep breath before responding, shifting her weight from one leg to another.

"I-I would like that, Naruto."

She looked up to see the blond grin back at her before he suddenly moved forward, without any hesitation or doubt, enveloping her in a close hug.

Frankly, she didn't know _what_ to do except take in a shocked breath at the rather welcomed physical contact.

The smell of musky ramen packets and, oddly enough, fox fur invaded her nostrils but she didn't care; at that moment nothing could have smelt better and nothing could have felt better than the slow vibrations of Naruto's chest as the blond chuckled unexpectedly.

Though the hug ended a bit too sooner to her liking, not that she would tell anyone that, she couldn't help but look forward to the next sort-of date when it came around.

Turning after watching Naruto walk off after biding her rather fond 'see you later', Rossweisse couldn't help but groan, however, as she realized what her blond crush was chuckling at before.

For, with their faces stuck to the windows, smoshing their features into a rather comical mess, were Issei, Xenovia and Irina, watching her with unblinking eyes.

She was never going to hear the end of this.

* * *

"I didn't think Naruto-sensei was your type~" Irina teased, eyes twinkling and she clasped her hands together in prayer. "I'm going to pray that you two become a cute couple!"

Rossweisse felt her face become warm.

"Are you going to make babies? Would you be so kind to let me know when you decided to copulate with Uzumaki-sensei," Xenovia asked, her eyes glancing sideways towards Issei, "I believe it would be useful to know about these matters for myself in the future."

Rossweisse felt her face become even warmer, as it started glowing.

"Why!? Rossweisse's delicious oppai have been claimed by that blond bastard! I was dreaming about Rossweisse and Koneko, the twin silver haired rooks! That blond bastard will pay for taking my dream from me! I'm happy that Rossweisse found someone but I thought we were united in our love to share oppai, Naruto-sensei!" Issei was currently crying, a trail of water flowing comically from his eyes.

Rossweisse couldn't help but feel her whole face glow an atomic red as she stood up, slamming the desk in front of her in embarrassment. "No! There's nothing going on between Naruto and me! We...we were just going out as friends! Friends!"

Though all three ignored her valiant denial; Xenovia continued thinking, biting her nail as she plotted her next practice session for baby making, Irina continued praying and Issei wouldn't stop sulking.

Unfortunately, the rather annoying and non-malicious teasing became a regular facet of Rossweisse's stay in the Hyoudou Residence in the following weeks; especially when Akeno and Rias found out about the hugging incident.

Though, she found she didn't mind as much as she thought she would as she found herself continually going out with Naruto to such a point that even her co-workers were convinced they were an item, convinced that her denials of the matter were her merely being shy.

Frankly, if being accused of being in relationship with her crush was the worst thing to happen, then she was fine with it.

When she had asked Naruto why he didn't seem to mind he had simply said that it didn't matter what others thought, that it was pointless to heed too much thought into labels and public opinion, that what really mattered was what you and the people who knew you best- your precious people- thought, that the only way to rise above public misconceptions was to not just talk but also to show.

She couldn't help but wonder why he sounded so old and wizened at that moment but she heeded Naruto's advice and tried to curb her habit of chronically crying at any amount of light teasing.

* * *

Rossweisse shuffled in her seat, adjusting her position so that it was more comfortable as she glanced up at the person sitting opposite her.

The two were currently in a bar; the latest of the string of sort-of-dates that Kuoh Academy's PE teacher had taken her on. She had accepted every time, enjoying each time more than the last.

It was freeing being with him; she didn't have to put up any acts or masks in regards to how she acted when she was with Naruto, never felt uncomfortable or forced to do something she didn't want to do which all served to flame her feelings for him.

Well... _mostly_ she showed her truth self to him. She still didn't want Naruto to know about her origins nor did she want him knowing about her feelings.

Naruto grinned back at her as he waved over the bartender. "Rose, you drink right?"

She nodded, feeling slightly disgruntled that Naruto had to even ask; she was a Valkyrie, she had drank dozens of times as Odin's bodyguard, she was _Norse_ and thus came from a long line of heavy drinkers _,_ not that Naruto knew that bit of information.

"Of course I can drink, Naruto."

The blond grinned, ordering sake.

Unfortunately, she may have overestimated exactly how good of a drinker she was as a cup later she was already slurring her words, saying 'to hell' with the sake saucer and wrestling the whole bottle of the rice wine from Naruto.

The blond, could only watch on with a rather bemused smile on his face; he couldn't help but think that a drunk Rossweisse was an incredibly cute Rossweisse.

"...and then that old man, Odin shays 'ahh, ladies! Ah, booze! Ah, breasts!' So shameless!"

Naruto gave her a rather odd look as she mentioned 'Odin', though it quickly passed as he patted her head, grabbing her by the arm to ensure she wouldn't fall over.

"This Odin sounds terrible, Rose. Now, I think we should go home."

"No! It's too early! I'm not even drunk yet!"

Naruto snorted, grabbing onto her flailing arms as he carefully walked her out of the bar. "'course not. I'm the one who's drunk. So why don't we just both go home."

Thankfully for the blond, the bar's location was not far from the Hyoudou Residence and thus greatly reduced the amount of physical effort that he needed to bring Rossweisse home.

Unfortunately, the distance was enough for Rossweisse to decide that out was better than in; as, without any prior warning or notice, she vomited all over Naruto's orange tracksuit.

"...you didn't even drink much...how are you vomiting, Rose?"

She looked up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears as the alcohol made her even more emotional than usual. "I'm so ssszzorry, Naruto!"

Her speech pattern hadn't fully recovered it seemed, her 's' slurring to such a point that her response sounded more like someone who had bitten their tongue.

Naruto, however, didn't seem to mind too much; rather when a second bout of stomach contents started flooding her mouth, the blond, rather than instinctively jumping away, promptly reached out, holding up her hair so that it wouldn't be dirtied.

"I-...thank you so much, Naruto..." she said, as she dry heaved, her throat sore from spewing her guts.

Naruto merely grinned in reply. "That's what friends do, Rose. We help each other in times of need."

However, those words rather than serving to comfort her as Naruto's words usually did, _hurt_ this time around.

Balling her hands into fists and looking up at her crush, she asked, "Is that all you see me as, Naruto? A friend?"

Her feelings and her being a devil were the only two things she had really held back from the blond in their many outings but _here_ , with her thinking process hindered and her inhibitions greatly lowered, she wasn't going to let this go.

Naruto gulped, his eyes darting to the left as he responded with a weak smile. "O-of course!"

Her eyebrows furrowed together at the response, not satisfied with it in the slightest. Pushing Naruto away, she wiped her mouth so that it was relatively vomit free.

"Wah-"

She suddenly surged forward, the alcohol serving to fuel her confidence, as she captured the surprised blond's lips with her own. She remained there, kissing him, trying to get him to understand how she felt before breaking apart.

She breathed out before she looked up at him, Naruto's face a tad green and more than a little stunned.

They stayed there like that, staring at each other for a few moments before...

...it finally hit her.

What she just did.

With Naruto.

And what that meant.

Her eyes widened, her mouth gaped, the shock served to sober her up as she continued looking at Naruto, whose face was still frozen stiff.

And then the world went black as Rossweisse collapsed.

* * *

She jolted awake, sitting up as she let out a small yelp. Looking around, she let out a small sigh of relief to find that she was back in her own room, her conservative pyjamas on her body with Naruto not in sight.

 _So it was just a nightmare..._

Suddenly, a crush sounded making her jolt as she quickly scrambled to the edge of her bed, her arm cocked back to punch anyone who dared threaten her.

Rossweisse breathed another sigh of relief, when she saw that the sound had come from Akeno falling to the floor, obviously having slept in the room the previous night.

"Ara, ara, Rossweisse-san, aren't you energetic this morning?" Akeno asked, her teasing smile making it onto her face.

However, rather than answering the question Rossweisse replied with her own. "W-what are you doing here, Akeno-san?"

Akeno's smile seemed to widen with that, her eyes closing in the way they did whenever the Queen knew she was holding some glorious teasing material over another's head. "My, my, Rossweisse-san! Such a question to ask...I guess I should start with how shocked I was to open the door last night to see you passed out in our dear Naruto-sensei's arms~! Did you do anything _naughty?_ "

Rossweisse felt her cheeks heat; a state that they often found themselves in these days, she would have to admit. "N-no...we only had a drink and then talked and then-"

She stopped, realizing what she had done after _that_. Given her first kiss away in her drunken haze. After vomiting.

And while a small part of her had to admit it was wonderful in that she _finally_ did something she always wanted to do, the larger part of her nearly had to recoil in mock disgust; physically she had just vomited before, so rather than the cliché of the kiss involving the swapping of spit, her's also involved the swapping of other less hygienic bodily fluids.

That and she had also bared her heart to Naruto, possibly causing irreversible damage to their relationship if her feelings weren't mutual.

It was probably the worst first kiss in history.

"Well, well, Rossweisse-san~! Looks like you won't have to bear with the teasing of not having a boyfriend any longer. After all, you did seem quite satisfied last night...I'm sure a lot of screaming was involved."

Rossweisse looked up at Akeno, spluttering, as she tried to denial it but the Queen had already left the room, obviously looking to spread the news to all in the Hyoudou Residence.

The former Valkyrie could only bury her head in her hands as she dreaded the day that was bearing down on her.

* * *

He did _nothing_ ; acted like nothing had changed, like last night didn't happen. He greeted her as usual, gave her some pills and water for her small headache but after that he had gotten back to work, not even once mentioning the _kiss_.

She thought that she would have liked it if Naruto pretended nothing had happened; it meant that her friendship with him was safe, that they wouldn't drift apart as she had feared.

But, now that she wasn't just hypothesising, now that she wasn't just wondering, Rossweisse had to admit that she _hated_ it.

She wanted Naruto to respond to her, for an answer to her sort-of confession last night to make itself known.

But by lunchtime when he hadn't come over to talk to her, as he usually did, she had figured that the fact that there was _no_ answer was likely the answer itself; especially when Naruto made up some rather lame excuse to not have lunch with the group as he usually did.

And the fact that she was rejected _hurt_ , even if she knew now.

With her first crush in shambles, her feelings not shared by the one she liked, she had to reflect back on the teasing she had endured when she was in Valhalla.

Maybe she was destined to not have a boyfriend, to never find love like she was destined to not inherit her parent's position in the clan.

To always remain a strict, cheap, serious, lonely former Valkyrie.

"Naruto? Oh, that guy definitely likes you, Rossweisse."

She looked by at Azazel, whom she had decided to have lunch with, the Fallen Angel Governor having not disappeared that day as he usually did. The goateed man was currently sipping on a saucer of sake (she had scolded him for drinking at a school but he had merely waved her off). "How do you know?"

"Women's intuition!" Azazel answered before he stroked his goatee. "Or it would be if I was a woman...but I guess in my case it would be a pervert's intuition!"

Rossweisse looked at him flatly, wanting a better explanation. The man smiled cheekily for a few moments before he heaved a sigh.

"Man~! You used to be so fun to tease. You'd get riled up and baited by _everything_."

 _I still am around Naruto..._

Azazel continued. "Well it should be pretty obvious to anyone looking at your relationship with Naruto objectively; the guy may be close to everyone but he doesn't really socialize that much outside the classroom. Especially not one-on-one like he's been doing with you for the past few weeks. That and he keeps staring at you when you're working...he doesn't really do that with anyone else. Seems pretty clear to me."

"T-then why?"

The Fallen Angel governor shrugged. "There may be a lot of reasons why Naruto hasn't told you he likes you himself. Maybe he's insecure and doesn't show it, maybe he thought you weren't genuine, maybe he's as much of a virgin as you are," the man continued talking, ignoring the teary eyed evil eye Rossweisse gave him, "maybe he's already got himself a lover or maybe he's got an incurable disease and doesn't want you to get involved with him. It's all speculation at the moment. And frankly, the reason doesn't matter. What you need to do, Rossweisse, is to make him talk to you about it, communicate that reason to you. Thankfully for _you_ , that opportunity is being gifted to you."

"What do you mean?" Rossweisse asked, agreeing with the logic the Fallen Angel had just described.

The man grinned, grabbing a nearby piece of paper which he casually presented to her.

She looked at it, curious as to what it was, before her eyes widened in realization.

"Yep! The second year Kyoto trip! You and I are already signed on to go, and luckily for you so is Naruto! So you can enjoy your trip with him while the students go off and do whatever it is they do in these trips. Probably popping their cherries. Which, is what you hopefully will be doing too if this goes in the direction that you want it to."

Steam seemed to rise from Rossweisse's ears as she tried to voice denials, that doing _that_ was only for responsible, married adults but she gave up in the face of the smirking Azazel.

It wasn't like the Fallen Angel was going to listen to her anyway.

Glancing down, she couldn't help but think this was her last chance with Naruto, to express her feelings once again and hear the blond's reply.

 _...so Kyoto, huh?_

* * *

 **End Note: So hopefully everyone enjoyed that and find the concept and writing interesting.**

 **I hope everyone is largely in character, especially Naruto. I tried to base him as much off Naruto Shippuden as possible and ignored some of the rather fanon concepts of his character and, damn, its surprisingly hard. I can see why a lot of people go off the rails with his character and prefer the suave, smooth take on him. Hopefully, however, I've got most his canon character down. I've deliberately made him somewhat smarter, however.**

 **I also hope this chapter wasn't too sappy for most of you. I really wanted to set a solid, plausible foundation (and at least someway realistic platform) for the future relationship between Naruto and Rossweisse without it being a simple case of 'I've always liked you' or something like that.**

 **Besides that I don't feel there is too much to explain in this chapter. Most of it is just interaction and the things I have implied but not revealed were deliberate.**

 **So I guess all I can say is, once again, hope you liked it and review/favourite/follow!**

 **lfonzo out!**


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